1:03 AM
by Cirruz The Night Elf
Summary: "God… God please." He looked up to the ceiling. "I'll do anything. Anything! Please… Just let my son live, God.. Please." One-Shot


_**AN- Yes, I know. I still haven't updated my Outsiders story and I'm sorry. But I was watching Brothers and Sisters (Rob Lowe! Eeep!) and it was a really sad episode. I couldn't stop myself. Sorry. xD But at least you get a story out of it.**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters... Except for Michael. He's mine. *sniffle*  
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_**Warnings: Mild swearing, Sad fic, and Death.  
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_**Enjoy!**_

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**1:03 A.M.  
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Dick rushed down the corridors, still in his police uniform. He had just gotten a call from the hospital, telling him Barbara had gone into early labor.

Very early.

Barbara Grayson was only six months pregnant with their first child. A baby boy, they had recently discovered.

Dick caught a nurse in the hall, putting a hand on her shoulder, talking fast, and gesturing wildly with his free hand.

"B-Barbara Grayson. Where is she?" The nurse looked at him with a fearful look.

"I'm s-sorry sir, but I can't give that information to anybody but family." He gave her an exasperated look.

"I'm her Goddamn husband! Look, you don't understand. I _have _to be there! I… I promised." His voice cracked slightly at the end. He had promised Babs that no matter what, he would be there for the birth. He knew she would understand, because this was certainly unexpected, but Dick Grayson never backed out on his promises. _Never_. The nurse checked her clipboard, going as fast as she could.

"Room 46, sir!" She gave a dazzling smile, "Congratulations!" He didn't bother to respond, and continued running down the hall. He had called Bruce on the way here, telling him to call the others.

_Forty-four, Forty-five, Forty-Six! _He mentally counted, as he burst through Barbara's room door. She lay on the bed, face tight with pain, hands gripping the railings so hard her knuckles turned white. Dick raced over to her, taking her hand in his. He kissed her sweaty temple.

"Sh, Babs. I'm here. It's okay, I'm right here." A sob escaped her lips. She gasped.

"Dick! I- I thought you weren't going to make it!" The contraction finally ended and she collapsed against the pillows. Dick gently smoothed her hair away from her forehead.

"I promised." He said simply, before a doctor came in.

"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Grayson. My name is Dr. James." Barbara started to panic. This was not her doctor.

"W- where's Dr. Maslow? My doctor? He's suppose to be the one to do the birth!" She cried, and Dick shushed her to calm her down. Dr. James adjusted his glasses.

"I'm afraid Dr. Maslow does not have the proper training to do the procedure." Dick and Babs shared a look of confusion. Procedure? What procedure?

Dr. James saw the looks on their faces and a confused look passed over his as well.

"You mean, no one told you?" He asked.

"Told us what?" Dick asked tensely. The doctor sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"For a baby born this pre-mature, for safety reasons, we would have to do a Cesarean Section." The couple's eyes widened, and Dick wrapped his arms protectively around Barbara. He didn't want this stranger anywhere near his wife and son with a scalpel. He gulped.

"Isn't there.. Another way?" He asked. Dr. James shook his head.

"Afraid not. Any other way would be very dangerous for both the child and Mrs. Grayson." That alone had Dick come to a conclusion. Well, it's not like he would have had a choice, anyway.

"Alright, when do we go in?" He asked. The doctor shifted nervously.

"Mr. Grayson, I'm sorry, but you're not allowed to be back there. I'm afraid you'll have to wait out in the waiting room with the rest of the family." Barbara lurched up.

"_What?_" She screamed. Dick whispered soothingly in her ear.

"Calm down, honey. It's okay." She whipped her head around to him.

"No! No, it most certainly is _not _okay! I'm the one having this baby, and whoever I want in that room, will _be in that room!_" Dick sighed, and the doctor cringed.

"Mrs. Grayson, if I could… I would allow Mr. Grayson to go with you. But it's against the hospital rules-" She cut him off.

"Screw the rules! I want my husband with me when that baby is born!" Dick rubbed her back in gentle circles. He took his other hand and gently turned her face toward him.

"Hey, now. Calm down, love. It's fine. I'll be waiting for you afterwards. Everything's going to be alright." He murmured, softly pressing his lips against her. She took his a shuddery breath, a sob breaking through when she released it.

"But.. But it's _not fair_." She cried, burying her head in his chest, as he sat down on the edge of her bed. He rocked her gently.

"But it has to be done." He murmured. Barbara nodded and turned to the doctor, who had stood there awkwardly through the scene. She took a deep breath.

"Alright. I'm ready." She lied. She would never be ready. Dr. James gave them a small smile.

"Good. Now, a nurse will be in here in a moment to give you the anesthetic." He said, and walked out. Dick looked down at Barbara with a playful smile.

"See? You get to sleep the whole time I'm out there dealing with all the freaks in our family." She giggled, and it was like music to his ears. Just then, a plump nurse walked in, with a fake smile plastered on her face.

"Alright dear, let's get you to sleep so the baby can meet the world." She said in a too-sweet voice. Barbara resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Soon, the nurse was done.

"Mr. Grayson, it's time for you to leave the room." She said, waiting for him by the door. He kissed Babs one more time, as her eyes started to droop.

"I love you." He murmured, slipping his hand from hers. As he followed the nurse out of the room, he almost didn't hear her response.

"'M love you, too."

When Dick emerged in the waiting room, he found all of his friends and family there. As soon as they noticed he was there, he was bombarded with questions.

"Where's the baby?"

"Is it oka-"

"What are you doing out here?"

"Is Barbara okay?"

"Tt, Grayson, where is this useless infant?"

One after another were fired at him, and he actually began to feel dizzy. Bruce held up his hand, and everyone quieted, but continued to look at Dick questioningly. He took a deep breath before answering.

"Babs had to get a C Section, for safety reasons, As far as I know, yes the baby is fine. I'm out here because I'm not allowed to be back there with her, Barbara's upset that I can't be back there with her, but otherwise fine." He took a deep breath after he finished. Bruce laid a hand on his shoulder, and he looked up at his father figure.

"It's okay." Bruce said, and those two little words made all the tension in his body melt. He and the others sank into chairs, and prepared for the long wait.

* * *

Twelve cups of coffee later, a doctor came out, a smile on his face. It fooled everyone. Everyone but Bruce and Alfred of course.

"Mrs. Grayson is in her room, now. She is asleep, but she should be waking up soon. Three at a time can enter." He said. They all nodded, and walked down the hall towards the new mother's room. It wasn't even a question as to who would go first. Dick, Bruce, and Alfred slipped through the door.

Dick walked over, and sat on one side of Barbara, taking her hand in his, smiling gently. Bruce and Alfred talked in hushed tones, so low that even Dick's trained ears couldn't pick up what they were saying.

"Master Bruce," the ancient family friend said, "I didn't quite like the look on Mistress Barbara's doctors face." He said carefully. Bruce nodded curtly.

"Me neither, Alfred. Me neither." Dr. James walked through the door then, walking over to Dick, and setting a hand on his shoulder. He looked up, and the smile faded when he saw the look on the doctor's tired face.

"Mr. Grayson, if I could have a word with you, please?" Dick glanced at Bruce and Alfred, before reluctantly nodding and following Dr. James out the door, and around the corner, somewhere private. The doctor turned to face Dick, a grim look on his face. Dick looked up worriedly.

"Dr. James?" He asked worriedly, "Is something wrong? Is Barbara alright?" The doctor nodded, but the grim expression didn't lift from his face.

"It's not Mrs. Grayson we are worried about, sir. It's the baby. Your son." Dick felt an iron fist grip his heart, dread settling in his stomach.

"W- what do you mean? H- he's fine, isn't he?" The doctor said nothing, and Dick felt tears of desperation filling his eyes.

"Doc? What's wrong? What's wrong with my baby?" He asked frantically. Surely something hadn't gone wrong. Everything seemed fine when Babs went for surgery. Dr. James took off his glasses, and rubbed his eyes."

"Mr. Grayson, as you know, your son was born very early. There… There is always danger when dealing with this. During the surgery, everything was fine. But while we were stitching Mrs. Grayson's incision, the baby developed a fairly high fever. We checked the baby's lungs, and despite being very small, they were fine. However… His kidney, Mr. Grayson… His kidney never finished developing. And, there are no donors at the time… I'm afraid he doesn't have long. When Mrs. Grayson wakes up, I suggest you say… do what you wish, before it's too late. I'm sorry." The doctor said, laying a hand on his shoulder, before trudging away.

Tears streaked down Dick's face, and he dropped to his knees, sobbing.

"God… God please." He looked up to the ceiling. "I'll do anything. Anything! Please… Just let my son live, God.. Please." He choked out the last "please". He sat there for what must have been fifteen minutes, sobbing, and trying to find a way to tell Barbara, and the others about their baby. Little Michael. Slowly he got to his feet, shuffling down the hallway.

When he saw his friends, the tears came again. Everyone but Barbara, who was getting dressed inside, was there. They looked up, and when they saw Dick, they all raced forward. Even Damian would admit he was worried.

Everybody asked what's wrong, and if everything was okay, and all Dick wanted to do was scream at them all to shut up. He sniffled, and looked up at everyone, tears still falling from his eyes.

"The baby… Michael… H- He's not going to make it." He said, before sobbing again. Everyone gasped in horror, and almost everyone began to cry. The Batman himself had more than a few tears traveling down his cheeks. His poor grandson. His poor _son_. That thought was enough to break him out of his own grief as he strode up to Dick, and wrapped his arms around him, as he sobbed into his chest.

Even though he was twenty-four years old now, right then he felt like he was eight again, Bruce comforting him after the nightmare of his parents' death.

Bruce kissed his forehead gently, and shushed him like a child. After a while, even though he didn't want to, Dick pulled away. He took a deep breath.

"I… I have to go tell Babs." He choked out, and everyone looked at him with sadness and pity. The boy had already lost so much, now he had to lose his son, too? It just was not fair.

Dick shut the door behind him, and looked up to Babs beaming face.

_Oh, Jesus…,_ he thought, _That just makes it worse._

"Dick! Did you see him? Is he beautiful? Whose hair does he have? What about eyes? I hope he got your eyes!" She gushed, but stopped when she saw his face. She looked at him worriedly as he made his way towards her. She reached out and touched his cheek.

"Honey? What's wrong? Why are you crying?" He leaned into her touch, tears yet again falling.

"Oh, Babs…" He said, sadly. Barbara searched his face.

"Dick… What is it? You're starting to scare me." She said, and he took a deep breath to tell her.

"Honey," he sat next to her on the bed, "The baby… He- He isn't doing so well." He looked down, not able to look her in the eyes. Her hands started to tremble.

"What- What do you mean? What's wrong with him?" She cried. Dick finally looked into her eyes.

"He has a really high fever, and.. His kidney isn't completely developed, love." Babs eyes lit up.

"But- But we can get him a new kidney! Donors, remember?" She actually looked happy, and relieved. It broke Dick's heart.

"Sweetie… He doesn't have much time. There won't be a donor prepared to give him a kidney." Dick watched helplessly as his wife's face fell once more, all the light being replaced with dull acceptance and tears. He gently pulled her to him, so he didn't disturb the stitches. He stroked her hair.

"It's alright, love. We'll try again. We'll have another baby. And if that doesn't work, we'll adopt." He tried to soothe her. But she just sobbed. She gave a choked gasp.

"I- I don't w- want another baby!" She hit his chest, "I want o- our baby! I want our Michael, Dick! I want my baby boy…" She whispered. Dick rocked back and forth.

"I know, baby. I know. I do, too." He whispered, sniffling. After a few minutes of trying to get Barbara to calm down, she sat up straight.

"I want to see him." She whispered. Dick nodded, and walked to the door, looking for a nurse. He found one and signaled her over, telling her the situation and that they'd like to see the baby. The nurse got a wheel chair for Barbara, and led them to where baby Michael was. When Barbara saw her baby boy in the bassinet, she cried. Harder than ever before. He was so small. Michael was 3 lbs and 2 oz, and her hand was bigger than his head. Dick reached over, after sanitizing his hands, and lightly ran a finger down Michael's soft cheek. He sniffled, and looked at the nurse.

"Would… Would it be okay, if we held him? Until he…" Dick let the sentence finish itself. The teary nurse nodded, and gently unhooked the baby from all his wires and laid him in Barbara's arms. The nurse sniffled.

"Well," she said, "I'll just let you two have some privacy with baby Michael." She said, before walking out the door, wiping at her eyes with a tissue.

Dick finally looked down at their baby, who had a small soft tuft of black hair on top of his head. His eyes parted ever so slightly, and you could see the shocking green.

Dick knelt down to the ground, so he was about the same level as Babs. Barbara held the baby close to her, whispering little words she hoped he would take with him, wherever he went.

"Hey, baby. I'm your Mommy. And I just want you to know that we love you… We love you _so _much, and wish we could spend more time with you down here. But, I want you to be happy." She sniffled, "And I want you to feel better. Not be in pain. I'm sure God will take care of you, until we see you again in heaven." She whispered. She kissed his forehead. "I love you," she said again, before handing gently handing him to Dick.

Dick lost it when Michael was finally resting in his arms. He held the baby to his chest, unable to speak for a few moments. Finally, he got his bearings, and gave a heartbroken smile.

"H- hey, little guy. Do you know who I am? I'm your Daddy. Your _Tati._ I wish you could stay longer. I wish you could be with us, and I could watch you grow up, and teach you all sorts of acrobatics. But, I understand now, even if I don't think it's fair. Michael, you will _always _be our little boy. Whether you're on Heaven or Earth doesn't change that. And your _Mami_ is right, buddy. We love you so much. We won't forget you, and We'll see you again someday, okay, son?" He sniffled and looked away for a moment. Finally, he leaned down and placed a kiss on his forehead, as Barbara had before. "Goodbye, Michael." He whispered, and the innocent baby let out a small yawn.

He handed Michael back to Barbara, but kept his hand on his cheek.

Both were unaware of the rest of their family and friends watching through the big glass window, all with tears trailing down their faces.

That night, at 1:03 A.M., Michael John Grayson died in his Mother and Father's arms

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_**AN- Hey guys. Yes, I know. I'm a terrible person. :'C Poor Graysons'. I hope you liked it! Please read and review, criticism is welcome, but please say it nicely. **_

_**Thanks for reading!**  
_

_**Cirruz The Night Elf  
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